Challenge Accepted
by nutellawaffles13
Summary: Join Shiori Fukuda as she tags along in the adventures of our favorite Yu-Gi-Oh protagonists. It'll be a tale of epic proportions, filled with magic, mystery, and lulz. Personal challenge to write an OC fic without a Mary Sue.


**A/N: Alright, I'm going to explain myself here. I've spent the past two days looking at horrible OCs, and I thought, "Can you make an OC with a bunch of Sue traits but _not _make then a Mary Sue?" And, I figured, why not pick the fandom I'm currently in? After all, YGO has a few things that, on an OC, will make someone cry "Mary Sue!" So, the final challenge is: "Is it possible to make a legit, non-Sue YGO OC who**

**a) Is told in first person**

**b) Is in a pairing with a particularly popular character (Kaiba/Yami Yugi/Yami Bakura)**

**c) Has either an 8th Millennium Item and/or some weird thing from Egypt**

**d) Has some weird bullshit powers relating to that item**

**e) Has a past life from Ancient Egypt that was involved in some way with whom she's paired**

**And so, I'm going to tackle all of the above points. And I swear it won't be an 8th Millennium Item. It will be an Egyptian Artifact, but I'm pretty sure I'm already fucking enough with the canon as it is. And yes, yes I know that I missed out on the "traumatic past" bit and a Yami, which is really popular with YGO Mary Sues. But you know what, fuck that. The combined psychological issues of most of the characters on this show could make any therapist a billionaire. I don't need to add on another "dark, brooding character with a bad past". And as for the Yami, honestly, with the way I'm planning out my OC's character and her story she just doesn't freaking need one. She isn't going to be a duelist, and really with what I'm doing with this character already giving her a Yami would be too much. If enough people tell me that giving her a Yami would be a good idea, I _might _consider it. But more likely than, not my decision is cemented and not to be moved. And my opinion is, if you're going to make an OC with an important item either make the item do something "speshul" (without being overpowered/plot-breaking/etc.) or give the OC a Yami attached to the item. Not both.**

**And, also, I promise that _everything _will be explained at one point or another. It may not be soon, even though most things involving my OC really aren't goddamn plot points, but screw it. If there is something in this chapter that bugs you while you are reading, feel free to scroll down to the ending A/N to see if something there answers your question. If it doesn't, there should be instructions on how to handle your problem.**

**Mainly takes place in the manga-verse. And I know the summary for this sucks, please forgive me. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, and I probably never will. Pretty much the only thing I own here is my OC.**

* * *

It's a magnificent day. The sky's a cloudless azure blue without a cloud in sight. Birds can be heard chirping occasionally, and the higher-pitched peeping of their newly-hatched offspring is a near-omnipresent sound. It's Sunday, so most kids are outside playing games with their friends, or inside playing games with their friends. Maybe they're playing Duel Monsters with each other, trying to see who the best at card games is between them. After all, since that whole stint that Kaiba pulled a few months back the game has gotten increasingly popular here in Japan.

Naturally, instead of enjoying the fine day that is today I'm in my basement, with the only source of light being a red candle. In front of me is a smooth, wooden board with the alphabet, the numbers 0-9, and the words "YES", "NO", and "GOODBYE" placed strategically on the board to make it somewhat visually appealing. So basically, I'm messing with a Ouija Board. I place my fingers on the planchette, a small piece of vaguely heart-shaped wood, and begin my session.

"Is there anyone here who wishes to communicate?" I ask in the most serious voice I can manage.

The board comes to life. Instantly, I can feel the planchette move across the board, and I make sure to not accidentally let go of it. As the wooden piece points to various letters and spells out words, I laugh at the final message.

_"Are you serious with the ridiculous atmosphere right now"_? I read aloud. "Yes, yes I _am _serious. Let me have my fun!"

A shadowy figure appeared on the other side of the board, and after a moment it solidified into the image of a teenaged girl with short blonde hair and green eyes. She was dressed in punk clothing—and I'm talking _traditional _punk clothing. Not the all-black, covered in piercings, "I dress this way to reflect the darkness in the pit I call a heart" punk.

"Well, you little twat, you could have had your fun in a less offensive manner," the girl says, glaring at the room. "I mean, did you really think it necessary to contact a spirit with the lights off, a candle, and a Ouija board? I might be here because I'm bound to this house, but that doesn't mean I can't ignore you. Or make your life a living hell." I give her my best dramatic puppy-dog eyes.

"But _Lizzy_!" I whine. "It's been so long since I've done something like this! I just want to have some fun, is that so wrong?' The girl sighs, giving me one of her "I can't believe you're being such an insufferable little child" glares.

So, maybe an explanation would be nice right about now? The name's Shiori Fukuda, and the fun little ball of sunshine over there is Elizabeth Connor, who moved to Japan from England in the '80's. She died of pneumonia six years later, at eighteen, and she's been hanging around because, in her words, "I don't care what the hell lies on the 'other side', and I'm sure watching humankind screw themselves over is much more interesting". Although, since her presence is a somewhat weak one she had to bind herself to this house in order to stay in the realm of the living. Kind of sucks for someone who wants to see humanity fuck themselves over, but at least she has television.

Oh yeah, by the way I can talk to ghosts. Well, sort of. You see, when I was thirteen, my grandma gave me this really cool amulet she found while traveling the world. She said that it came from Ancient Egypt. After I got it, I started to hear strange noises around the house, see things out of the corners of my eyes, basic things that were probably the signs of child-onset schizophrenia or something. But somehow or another I ended up in possession of a Ouija board, and around my fourth or fifth session I could see Lizzie moving the planchette across the board. Really scared the hell out of me. After that, well, I've been able to see and speak to ghosts without the use of a tool like my board. To this day I wonder why my parents decided to give me a Ouija board, or really where the hell they got one. And yeah, maybe it would have been a good idea for me to get rid of the amulet, or for me to go to a psychic or a historian or something and figure out why it was letting me see ghosts. But what can I say, I was thirteen. I just thought it was cool. And now I'm just so used to it I couldn't dream of letting this thing go.

"You are absolutely terrible," Lizzy says. "And no, I won't put up with this. So hurry up and close the board and let's go to your room; I don't particularly care for dark rooms lit by candles."

I childishly stick my tongue out at her. I honestly miss my old Ouija board sessions. With a sigh, I slide the planchette to "GOODBYE" and then pick up the board. I blow out the candle and exit the basement, with Lizzy already out of the room. I swear, that ghost better not be invading my parent's liquor cabinet. I don't care that she technically can't drink the stuff; whenever it's moved around my parents always question me. And since they don't know about me being able to talk to the ghosts without the Ouija board, I can't exactly tell them that a spirit did it. Actually, they don't believe in the paranormal in general; they got me the Ouija board because it was a popular "toy" that was around when they were growing up. Granted, they're always busy on business trips, so it's not like they have a lot of time to notice these types of things anyway. Eh, at least they call me every day.

The cool thing is, Ouija boards aren't the only way to have fun with the spirits. Over the years, I've found many fun-filled "Spirit Games" that involve contacting the dead. My absolute favorite is One-Man Hide and Seek, though I call it Lonely Hide and Seek. I've also done Three Kings, the Midnight Game, Daruma-san, Living Doll, Dark Music, and the Elevator Game. And yes, I know that Lonely Hide and Seek, the Midnight Game, Living Doll, and Daruma-san are all essentially the same game, but I really don't care. Lonely Hide and Seek is probably the safest, and it's definitely the most fun. I mean, just imagine an adorable bunny rabbit coming after you trying to steal your body. Although believe me when I say that these games can get downright _painful_, even the Ouija board. I've been stabbed, have had glass thrown at me, received blunt-force trauma to the head—I'm honestly surprised I haven't gotten possessed or something yet. Well, who cares. At least it's good for some entertainment. And what's life without a little bit of danger mixed in?

I go up to my room, and Lizzy's nowhere to be found. Oh well, she's probably going to make good on her threat of ignoring me for a little bit. Lizzy will do that occasionally, but she loves me too much to actually leave me behind for too long. Or maybe she just finds my existence amusing. Eh, same-difference right?

So with barely a moment's pause, I sit down at my desk and fire up my laptop. Looks like it's time to waste an ungodly amount of time looking up pointless things on the internet. Or maybe I'll look up a good horror game…I heard "imscared" is fun.

* * *

School is hell. Let no one ever tell you any different. And it's even worse when you're running on two hours of sleep and an ungodly sugar/coffee concoction that's more likely to give diabetes than energy. Okay, so that's kind of my fault. But you try sleeping after playing freaky games at night! That goddamn face is going to haunt me in my nightmares for the rest of my life. And I swear I'm not a wimp when it comes to horror. Well, maybe a little. You'd think I'd be used to freaky shit considering my preferred activities, but for some reason it's just less scary in real life. Okay, I'm pretty sure there's something wrong with that. But who cares? It's my life, I'll get possessed if I want to.

I somehow manage to pull myself into the classroom, only to practically collapse at my desk. At least I'm on time.

I'm sprawled across my desk, hovering on the border of consciousness, when someone begins poking the side of my head. I glare into desk and resist the urge to get up and yell at whoever it is. I'm getting caffeine jitters and my head is starting to swim with the effects of the impending crash. Note to self: never, _ever _use sugary coffee as a way of waking up in the morning; it only makes things worse.

"I'm pretty sure she's dead guys," a familiar voice says. I peek up at the person poking my head and see a blonde with brown eyes. I try to glare, fail, and just settle for grumbling at him.

"Shuddup Jonouchi, I'm running on very little sleep and currently on the verge of a sugar/caffeine crash," I tell him. He grins at me.

"Oh really? I thought you were hungover or something." I give a half-hearted growl and settle back into my desk. I'm just not in the mood right now.

Jonouchi is a good acquaintance of mine; we have a semi-rivalry on who can give the most creative insults. As of right now he's winning, but the moment I can think clearly again I _will _beat him. At first it was something serious, with the two of us trying to come up with the most scathing words we could. One time we both called each other the most random things we could think of, and that particular shouting match ended with both of us in hysterical laughter. Since then we've had an odd semi-friendship.

He introduced me to his friends Honda, Anzu, and Yugi a few months back. During lunch and sometimes after school I'll hang around them, but most of the time I'm more or less on the outskirts of the group. I pretty much just add the occasional snarky comment and try to be a source of comic relief whenever something serious happens. And, for some reason, serious shit occurs a lot for a group of five teenagers. It could have something to do with the fact that the spirit a 3,000 year old pharaoh currently inhabits the pendant Yugi wears around his neck—called the Millennium Puzzle. And I swear I'm not spouting bullshit here. We've all seen the spirit take over Yugi's body, and we've also seen him mindfuck numerous people. This is including, but not limited to: a school bully, a famous criminal, and teenaged billionaire Seto Kaiba, who tried to kill all of them in a satanic amusement part because Yugi beat him at a children's card game. And there was also that one time a freaky Egyptian showed up at the museum who tried to mindfuck Yugi and nearly killed Anzu in the process. The freaky guy also spouted some BS to me about my amulet and to be careful around it. I told him that seeing ghosts really wasn't that much of an ability and that at least I didn't have some weird spirit living in my ancient Egyptian artifact. He ended up giving me a weird grin, said he'd be back to test _me _when the time came, and disappeared. Good times, good times.

Sometimes I wonder if I should find new acquaintances. But then I remember that these guys are more entertaining than anyone else I could hang around. So here I am, enjoying the craziness. And really, as someone who can talk to ghosts I can't really complain about the level of weirdness this group brings. They know about that particular skill, which was something that I decided to tell them after I invited them over to my place and Lizzy decided to have some fun by screwing with them. Yugi thinks it's kind of cool, while Jonouchi just thinks it's creepy.

A group of girls decide to enter the room, the volume of their appearance jolting me out of my half-asleep state. I try to block them out and get a couple more seconds of blissful unawareness before the teacher comes in, but their squealing makes it really heard to concentrate on nothing.

"I'm so excited for the new student! He's supposed to be really attractive," one of them chirps excitedly. "I hope he's not taken or anything, the cutie could have a long-distance relationship."

"Please, Miko said that he looks really shy. I bet he has trouble even looking at girls, so cute!"

"Aww, the shy type. Sounds like he'd be a good match for you Hotaru! You love the quiet boys."

I roll my eyes. Really, it's entertaining listening to people get all worked up over someone of the opposite gender. Besides, new student, big deal. Last time we got a new student it was Kaiba, so I'm not exactly thrilled at the idea of getting another one. Sure, the guy's probably alright, but I don't particularly know. Yugi and the others will probably try to make him feel welcomed, though, so I'll probably end up talking to him either way.

I hear the door slide open once more, and the class went silent except for the scraping of chairs and the sound of people rushing to their proper seats. Well, looks like the teacher's finally here. With a groan I lift my head off the desk. The teacher stands in front of the class and clears his throat.

"Alright class, I apologize for being a bit late," he says. "However, I'm sure you will be glad to know that we have a new student."

Right after the teacher announces that, a boy walks in and smiles at the class. "Hello, I'm Ryo Bakura. It's nice to meet you all."

I look at him for a moment. He has brown eyes and incredibly fluffy white hair. And this kid is really adorable. I mean, almost Yugi-level adorable. And while whatever semblance of friendship I have with Yugi stems mostly from the numerous life-endangering situations I've been through with him and his friends, I can freely admit that the kid is as adorable as a baby panda. Bakura's level of adorableness is equal to that of a fluffy little kitten.

"Alright Ryo, there's a spare seat next to Shiori over there." The teacher gestures in my general direction. Cue the hate-stares of numerous angry fangirls. And let me tell you, that isn't a pretty sight. Fangirls are the scariest things on the face of the earth, scarier than anything I've encountered in real life or in video games. Hell hath no fury like a fangirl scorned, let me tell you.

Jonouchi, sitting on the other side of Bakura, grins at him. "I'm Jonouchi. Let's get along, what do you say Bakura?" he asks. The boy smiles at him and nods. "The girl on the other side of you looking like she wants to shoot someone is Shiori. Don't mind her, she's currently in the middle of a caffeine crash."

"Ah, nice to meet you Shiori," Bakura says. I give him a half-wave.

"Nice to meet you too Bakura," I say. "Be careful with Jonouchi, he'll corrupt your mind and lower your IQ down to his level."

This of course started an angry note-passing war between the blonde and I, with poor Bakura in the middle of it. At the very least, he seems to be amused by our antics, stifling a laugh or two upon seeing the irritated expressions on Jonouchi's face. Hell, I laugh at the irritated expressions on Jonouchi's face. He makes the best facial expressions, I'm telling you.

Class drones on, and eventually it's lunch time. Jonouchi brings Bakura over to a bunch of desks where Yugi, Anzu, and Honda are sitting. Everyone introduces themselves, and we get into a conversation about games. You know, the usual.

"Your family owns a game store?" Bakura asks Yugi. The shorter boy smiles and nods his head.

"Do you like games Bakura?" Yugi asks.

"Yes, especially board games," Bakura replies. "I especially love the game Monster World. Have you heard of it?" Yugi gives an affirmative and smiles.

"Hey, what's Monster World?" Jonouchi asks.

"Oh, Monster World is like a tabletop RPG," Yugi explains. "There's the Dark Master, controlled by one of the players. Everyone else is an adventurer, where they work as a team. The Dark Master is usually in the form of a monster. If the adventurers can beat that particular monster, they win. Though if the Dark Master beats the adventurers, they win. It's really cool, because the game board is customizable and you can add and move around different pieces and landscapes. It makes every game a unique experience!"

"Wow Yugi, you really know a lot about different kinds of games, don't you?" Bakura asks with a small laugh. Yugi gives a shy smile in response.

"Hey, that sounds really cool!" Jonouchi exclaims. "Why don't we get together and play Monster World tomorrow after school, that sound good Bakura?"

Bakura's smile faltered a bit, and something flashed in his eyes. He gave a somewhat unenthusiastic affirmative. I raised an eyebrow in curiosity, but didn't say anything. When I hang around with Yugi and the others, I prefer to stay firmly on the sidelines. Although, when I look at Yugi, I could see concern in his eyes. Well, he can handle whatever Bakura's problem is. If anyone can get someone to bow to the "power of friendship", it's Yugi.

Bakura's eyes light up again with their previous cheer after a moment. "Hey Yugi, I've been wanting to ask you something." He gestures to the Millennium Puzzle around the shorter boy's neck. "That's an interesting pendant you're wearing."

Yugi looks down at it. "Oh, it's the Millennium Puzzle. They found it in a Pharaoh's tomb in Egypt." Yugi allows Bakura to take a closer look at it, and the white-haired boy lightly turns the Puzzle over in his hands. "Shiori's amulet also came from Egypt, although I'm not sure exactly where."

Bakura turned to me and smiled. "Wow, really? You know, I…"

Something changes. Bakura's eyes widen, and he clutches his chest as if something had hurt him. I frown, and almost make a move to check to see if the boy's alright. Yugi beats me to it though, and I settle back in my seat.

"Are you alright?" Yugi asks.

"Ah, it's nothing," Bakura says, handing the Puzzle back to Yugi. There's still a concerned look on the shorter boy's face, though, so Bakura's words probably didn't convince him. Before anyone can make another move to ask if he's alright, the same group of girls that were squealing earlier came over and abducted poor Bakura.

"Quit hogging Bakura for yourselves!" the girls exclaim before dragging the doomed guy off. "Come on, we'll show you around the school~ We already have a fan club for you!"

Jonouchi scowls at the retreating group, muttering about how popular he is with the girls. Anzu teases him about being jealous, while the blonde snarls something at her in response.

"He seems really nice, though!" Yugi says excitedly.

The others agree. "Although, maybe we should try to rescue the poor guy from the horde of fangirls," Honda says. "Maybe you could do it Anzu? Just swoop in, pretend to be a fangirl, and rescue the poor guy before too much damage is done to him."

"Don't you know a thing about fangirls?" Anzu asks seriously. "Think of it in animal terms. Bakura's the prey, and the fangirls are hungry lionesses. If another lioness comes in, do you really think they're going to let their prey go that easily?"

"She's got a point Honda," I add. "You don't want to mess with fangirls. Bakura seems cool and all, but I don't particularly feel like sending someone to the almost literal lion's den."

"Well, we can't just leave the poor guy to the mercy of those crazy chicks!" Jonouchi says. "Come on, we have two girls here. You guys do rock-paper-scissors to see who goes."

"Hey, why does it have to be one of us?" I ask.

"Yeah Jonouchi, just because we're girls doesn't mean we'll have a better chance than you guys at rescuing him," Anzu says. "Why don't you and Shiori do rock-paper-scissors instead, since you're the one insisting on rescuing him?"

Well, looks like Jonouchi's jealousy is coming back to bite him in the ass. "Fine!" he exclaims. Anzu, Honda, and Jonouchi glare at me, so I sigh and accept the challenge.

"Rock-paper-scissors!"

For a minute or two, we end up tying every game. Scissors to scissors, rock to rock, back to scissors to scissors, and then paper to paper. I pick paper again, hoping that Jonouchi will pick rock. Unfortunately, he goes with scissors.

"Haha, good luck Shiori!" Jonouchi says. I give a half-hearted response and follow the path the fangirls took five minutes ago. Chances are the guy already escaped their clutches anyway, with all the time we wasted.

* * *

I wander the hallways looking for the pack of fangirls, though my search turns up nothing. Honestly, you'd think finding a pack of squealing, hormonal teenaged girls would be easier than this. A shadowy figure catches my eye as I walk through an empty hallway. After a moment, it changes to a teenaged boy wearing an outdated Domino High uniform. I recognize the brown-haired boy immediately.

"Hey Katsurou," I say. The boy gives me a nod. He's one of the spirits that likes hanging around the school. I think he jumped off the roof of the building a few decades ago but every time I've asked he's never denied nor confirmed it. It's a fairly common legend in the school, though, and he matches the description of the kid well enough.

"It's been a while, hasn't it Shiori?" he asks. I give a half-smile and hold my hands out as a sign of surrender.

"Yeah, I know man. Sorry I haven't been around to talk, some crazy shit has been going on as I'm sure you've seen." Katsurou gives a small smile and nods.

"I know, I know. I just wanted to give you hell for not dropping by. The only other person who enjoys hanging around this part of the school is Souma, and you know how I feel about him."

I give the spirit a clap on the back, making sure to not apply too much force. "I feel ya buddy, I'll try to stop by more often. Hey, have you seen a guy with fluffy white hair that looks kind of like a kitty surrounded by fangirls anywhere around here?"

Katsurou blinks at me, giving me the "have you lost your mind?" look I've become accustomed to. "No, but I _did _see an angry/amused Karita walk in that direction." He points down the hall. "He went to the left. I figure he's going to start something, and it might involve that poor sap you mentioned."

"Thanks!" I shout as I head down the hall. "I'll try to bring you something special tomorrow, alright? You like mystery novels, right? I think I have a few lying around the house I can give you."

There are only four spirits that reside at this school: Katsurou, Souma, Suzume, and Noburu. All were former students except for the last one, who was a particularly dedicated teacher who died in a car accident a few blocks down. You see, most spirits are too weak to stay in this realm unless they bind themselves to a place where they had a strong attachment to in life, whether negative or positive. They can't leave the grounds after that, but they're free to move about the place and mess around with stuff. Katsuro's the "dark and brooding" type, who generally prefers to keep to himself and not bother the students. He'll stick to an unoccupied classroom, and since he loves reading I'll occasionally bring him a book or two to help him pass the time. He's a sweetie when he's not being grumpy, though.

Soon enough, I can hear Karita's booming voice. After I round another corner, I can see him tugging on Bakura's hair and calling him a troublemaker. He pushes the white-haired boy back abruptly and laughs, walking in my direction. He notices me standing there and gives me a scowl.

"What do you want Fukuda?" he growls.

I shrug. "I was just wandering the halls, minding my own business, and seeing you harass a student," I reply, trying to make myself appear bored and uninterested. "You might wanna watch that, the principal doesn't exactly appreciate stunts like that."

Karita snarls something like "say something and you'll be running suicides for a month" before walking off, laughing triumphantly. With that, I turn my attention to the horde.

"Sorry girls, I gotta steal Bakura for a moment," I say. "On my way here I passed by the teacher's lounge, and our teacher said that Bakura still needed to fill out a few forms. He was gonna wait until class started, but he said that if I knew where he was to escort him to the attendance office so he can straighten the stuff out." I notice the glares they're giving me. "Don't worry, you can have him back after."

With that, I grab Bakura's arm and start pulling him down the hallway and in the opposite direction of Karita. "Oh, um, thank you," he says. "You're Shiori, right?" I nod.

"Well, thank you, but I need to head to the bathroom. Tell the teacher that I'll head to the office in a minute." He had a somewhat pained expression on his face. Instead of asking if he's okay I laugh and shoot him a cheeky grin.

"Heh, no problem Bakura. The form part was a lie, though. Yugi and the others were worried so they sent me to rescue you. You're free to go wherever you want, just watch out for classroom 10-C." That's Katsurou's favorite room, and he really doesn't like intruders.

Bakura gives me one last smile and hurries down the hall. I walk back to the classroom, sighing. I hope the poor guy's alright, he seemed like something was really bugging him. Eh, not my place to ask personal questions. I take my iPod out of my pocket to check the time. I have ten minutes of lunch left; just enough time to go back to Katsuro and bug him for about five minutes.

* * *

**A/N: First off, yes, I know that ghosts kind of fuck with a lot of things the Egyptians believed in and I know that it's a really, really weird thing to be putting in here. Like I literally chose the most random and useless ability I could give my OC. And, to be honest, that's kind of the _point_. I wanted to give her an ability that was "different" and yet hilariously non-useful. After all, in this show you have characters that frequently mindfuck others (Yami and Marik) and ones that can see into the future (Ishizu). While seeing ghosts is a really weird choice for this universe, I kind of came up with that while looking through some terrible OCs with their "omfg look gaiys i have scry pwrs an shit" things I figured that I might as well give her a "dark" ability. That's completely useless. And yes, I promise that it'll eventually be explained. And at least this ability can't really break the plot. Or maybe it can and I'm just not thinking about it hard enough. *shrug* Eh.**

**If there is something wrong with the story, the OC, or my historical accuracy, or if there's something that genuinely bugs you, either review or PM me and I'll try to explain. . And criticism is always welcome. You can be as harsh as you want, as long as you give some tips on how to make it better. Or don't do anything, because I highly doubt you actually give a damn.**

**I promise that this will be the last chapter with obscenely-long Author's Notes. I just needed to explain a few things. And future chapters will be longer and much better-written, I just kind of wanted to see how people reacted to my idea. Which is probably not even close to an original one. Eh...Sue me. Or wait, please don't. **

**Also, all Spirit Games mentioned are, in fact, real games. Give them a try if you want. Also, I don't own imscared. Fun game, though. **


End file.
